Steelhead Report

by Eric Barker
Lewiston Tribune, July 19, 2010

As of Sunday 5,275 steelhead had made it past Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River.
Most of those fish should be piling into the lower Clearwater River for a little cold water blast. On Monday the Snake River near Heller Bar was about 68 degrees. The Lower Clearwater at Spalding was about 55 degrees.

I fished near the Clearwater Paper mill for about an hour and a half Saturday evening. No grabs at all but it was a nice evening. I've decided to spend more time fly fishing the Clearwater's catch-and-release season this summer and early fall. I'm hoping to land my first July steelhead but I'm not very proficient at catching steelhead on the fly. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted. Feel free to comment with your own steelhead fishing reports.